Prime Minister Paul Martin called on world leaders to take "bold steps" to end the fighting and famine in the western Sudan region of Darfur.

Speaking at the United Nations' General Assembly, Martin called for swift action to protect civilians in the region.

"Darfur is a human tragedy of immense proportions," Martin said in his first speech to the UN as Canada's prime minister.

"The United Nations is our moral conscience. The time has come for us to act."

Martin told the Assembly that Canada respects every nation's right to sovereignty. But, he said Canada also supports the UN entering situations where nations are either "unwilling or unable" to act, to save people at extreme risk.

"Put simply, there is no still no explicit provision in international law for intervention on humanitarian grounds," he said. Source.

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